1954–55 United States network television schedule

The following is the 1954–55 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1954 through March 1955. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1953–54 season.

Fall 1954 marked a big change for television when ABC announced a network deal with a significant Hollywood producer. ABC had contracted with Walt Disney to produce a new series called Disneyland (as part of the deal, the network provided funding towards the construction of Walt's amusement park of the same name, opening in July 1955). The series was an instant hit, and marked the beginning of the networks allowing Hollywood programs into their schedules. Thus, Disney became the third significant Hollywood film producer to venture into television production, after Jerry Fairbanks and Hal Roach.

ABC president Leonard Goldenson decided in early 1954 that a television network was not the place for religious programs; as a result, Billy Graham's religious series, Hour of Decision , did not appear on ABC's fall 1954 schedule. Goldenson told Graham that the series was canceled because the poor ratings the series received were hurting the "flow" of ABC's entertainment programs. However, later critics, such as R.D. Heldenfels (1994), reject the stated reason for the cancellation. According to Heldenfels, since Hour of Decision was the last program that ABC aired on Sunday nights (at 10:30), "flow would not have been an issue"; ABC did not air anything in place of the canceled series and gave the slot back to its local affiliates. Heldenfels believes Goldenson "simply felt uncomfortable about organized religion".^[1] Another 1953–54 ABC religious series, This Is the Life , also failed to make the 1954–55 ABC schedule.

DuMont's 1954–55 schedule would be the last year the failing television network planned a seven night program schedule, and even this schedule was full of holes. Heldenfels states that the 1954 DuMont schedule "was a checkerboard of programs and empty spaces for [local] stations to fill".^[2] DuMont did not bother to schedule anything against ABC's Disneyland, NBC's new series Caesar's Hour , or either of CBS's Arthur Godfrey programs, conceding those slots (and others) to the bigger networks. However, DuMont continued to air Bishop Fulton Sheen's program Life Is Worth Living against NBC's popular The Buick-Berle Show . DuMont's counter-programming strategy, scheduling a religious program against Milton Berle's bawdy show, had met with success in previous years. The rivalry between the programs had caused Berle to joke, "He uses old material, too." Sheen, for his part, once introduced himself as "Uncle Fultie".^[3] Still, DuMont's limited success in counter-programming a few slots would not be enough to save the network; Heldenfels states that the DuMont network's programs "resemble the grasping of program straws as much or more as they look like a strategic plan."^[4] DuMont would cancel Life Is Worth Living in April 1955, along with most of its remaining programs.^[5]

New fall series are highlighted in bold.

Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.^[6]

  Yellow indicates the programs in the top 10 for the season.

  Cyan indicates the programs in the top 20 for the season.

  Magenta indicates the programs in the top 30 for the season.

• On NBC, The Roy Rogers Show (30/26.9) aired 6:30–7:00 pm, and the Sunday edition of Max Liebman Presents made its debut as a monthly series, airing 7:30–9:00 pm On CBS, beginning this season, The Jack Benny Program alternated with Private Secretary as a bi-weekly series.
• Appointment with Adventure , an anthology series, appeared for the first of fifty-three episodes on the CBS 1954–1955 Sunday schedule at 10:00 pm EST, beginning April 3, 1955.

Note: On NBC, Producers' Showcase made its debut as a monthly series, airing 8:00–9:30 pm

Note: Beginning this season, Chrysler's Plymouth division alternated with R.J. Reynolds as sponsor of Camel News Caravan on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Bob Hope Show and The Martha Raye Show each appeared monthly.

* formerly Meet Mr. McNutley

Note: On CBS, Willy moved from Saturday to Thursday in April.

* formerly Where's Raymond?

Note: On NBC, the Saturday edition of Max Liebman Presents debuted as a monthly series, airing 9:00–10:30 pm. On ABC, Ozark Jubilee premiered in January from 9:00–10:00 p.m. On CBS, Willy moved from Saturday to Thursday in April.

The Soldiers , a live military sitcom starring Hal March, Tom D'Andrea, and John Dehner, produced and directed by Bud Yorkin, aired eleven episodes on NBC Saturday schedule between June 25 and September 3, 1955.

Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.

• McNeil, Alex. (1996). Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. Fourth edition. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
• Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1984). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.
• Heldenfels, R(ichard) D. (1994). Television's Greatest Year: 1954. New York: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-0675-0.

• United States primetime network television schedules
• 1954 in American television
• 1955 in American television

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